"The labor shortage and people no longer wanting to work..." 'James "Kimo" Rosen' (Kimo's world #352)

James "Kimo" Rosen is a retired professional photographer  

and amongst things is a satirist.

Rosen currently resides on the tropical island of Kaua'i.

                                                                               

            

                                            Sunrise/Weather Photos, August- 2023

                                         These photos appeared on Hawaii News Now

                   Blog #2106~Kimo's world #352                                         

      The labor shortage and people no longer wanting to work

Call it what you like,

a side effect of the pandemic, too many participation trophies, pure laziness, too many government programs, or folks just simply don't want to work anymore. The labor shortage is real. 

Locally on the Garden Island just last week Micky D's in Kapa'a closed its dining room. The reason given by the manager was they couldn't find enough workers.

 This past week a

Dr. Rogoff, formerly of
Hale Lea Medicine writes
a prescription...

popular healthcare and urgent care center on Kauai’s North Shore (Hale Lea Family Medicine & Urgent Care ) announced its closure after 30 years, because of staffing shortages and insufficient insurance reimbursement rates.

Also this past week the Kauai bus announced that it is temporarily suspending service on Sundays beginning August 27 citing ongoing staffing shortages as everyone else. 

The Kaua‘i Bus currently has 49 bus drivers on staff; however, only 43 drivers are currently

on active rotation. The agency has eight vacant driver positions available and is actively seeking applicants.

Sunday bus service will remain suspended until staffing has returned to sufficient levels.

Nearly every business is having staffing shortages, from grocery and big box stores to

five-star and fast food restaurants, hotels, airlines, doctors' offices, school bus drivers, teachers, and even jobs that were once in demand like County jobs with good pay and great benefits. Just imagine what low-paying jobs must be like to fill.

I believe much of this can be attributed to a few factors. The participation trophy

generation is all grown up and plain and simple don't want to start at the bottom and work up the ladder, they all want to start out as CEOs.

Another thing that has always bothered me is that every graduation season I always read in The Garden Island News about the Valedictorian of the

local high schools here on the island. There is never just one, there are usually upward of 30 per graduating class. How can 30-plus people be the smartest? There can only be one smartest and best student. Just as in the Super Bowl, there is one MVP, not 30.

https://www.thegardenisland.com/2021/05/23/hawaii-news/kapaa-class-of-2021-has-33-valedictorians/

 This gives young people

a superiority factor way of thinking that they are smarter than they actually are. This leads many to believe manual or entry-level positions are below their level and should they ever accept such a job they would most likely demand way too much money.

Many other businesses

have been forced to close because laborers have figured they can do better on government assistance than what part-time work would warrant them even at $20.00 or more per hour. 

There is also a rumor of many in the labor force moving off the island due to lack of affordable housing while the rich and famous continue to transplant.

COVID assistance has allegedly ended, however, you can still plead your case for emergency assistance.

I cannot blame

people for not wanting to work when they can do better with food, medical and rental benefits sitting right at home or on their parent's couch.

When will this all end? Not anytime time soon if we keep the same "Good ole boys" in office, nationally, statewide, and locally.

Let's make Kaua'i great again! 

Stay tuned for the upcoming blog;
Is ancestry a scam?

Hana Hou!(Encore)